A&N Tribal Welfare Dept accepts Nicobarese call to return to ancestral land, yet key concerns remain
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Sri Vijaya Puram: For the first time in two decades, the Andaman and Nicobar administration’s Tribal Welfare Department has formally acknowledged the Nicobarese community’s long-standing demand to return to their ancestral lands on Great Nicobar Island. The recognition appears in the minutes of a Tribal Welfare Committee meeting held last month, as part of the environmental clearance process for the island’s multi-component mega-project.
According to a report published by Frontline, three committees are currently reviewing the project: one focused on pollution, another on biodiversity, and a third on issues affecting the Shompen and Nicobarese communities. According to the minutes, the tribal welfare department has agreed to consider “specific demands, including the request for return to ancestral land”.
The Nicobarese were moved out of their forested tribal reserve areas after the 2004 tsunami and resettled in a tribal colony within the revenue area of Great Nicobar. Their earlier settlements had basic infrastructure such as roads, schools and a public health centre facilities. But now, they say these facilities remain largely inadequate in their new location. Despite consistent written and oral appeals since 2004, the administration did not act on their request to return and the latest acknowledgement comes only now, in the shadow of a large-scale development project that would significantly alter the island’s landscape.
Experts and community observers say the development is welcome but overdue. Social ecologist Manish Chandi, who earlier served on the administration’s Tribal Welfare Advisory Board, noted that the Nicobarese demand must be fulfilled, not merely considered. “The land belongs to the Nicobarese. It should be granted to them,” he said, cautioning that past assurances, such as delayed basic amenities in New Chingen, have not always translated into action.
However, the same committee minutes also highlight clear approvals for aspects of the mega-project that could further restrict tribal access to traditional lands. These include proposals for “geo-fencing cum surveillance towers” in Shompen areas and plans to redraw tribal reserve boundaries. Notably, the tribal welfare committee does not include a single member from either the Shompen or Nicobarese communities, and has not held any meetings with them.
Transparency issues have also surfaced. The minutes were uploaded only after an RTI appeal compelled the administration to release them. The initial denial cited Section 8(1) (a) of the RTI Act, despite environmental clearance conditions requiring the minutes to be published.
Separately, the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for the road component of the mega-project, finalised in August by Atlas Management Consultancy Services Private Limited, has drawn criticism for omitting concerns expressed by the Nicobarese during the public hearing. While comments from settler communities were included, the SIA claims tribal groups “were not averse to any development work”. This contradicts multiple written submissions made by the Nicobarese tribal council and earlier objections from sections of the Shompen community, who have asked that development be kept away from their forests and hills.
When contacted by the Rishika Pardikar, an environment reporter based in Bengaluru, the consultant who prepared the SIA denied that the Nicobarese had raised objections at the public hearing, showing assertion that conflicts with the written and oral testimonies recorded at the time. The social welfare department overseeing the SIA process has not responded to queries.
In another instance of sidelined tribal concerns, the recently released draft coastal management plans list three wildlife sanctuaries, ignoring objections from the Nicobarese that such protected areas restrict their access to land and resources.
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
